Have You Hugged Your Kiwi Today?

[Tame Emu Guy]

Have you hugged your kiwi today?

Hey, guys. This is interesting. Got a great book at the Goodwill: Buller’s Birds of New Zealand, a large and truly lush quality coffee-table book. I wanted to get an illustration of a kiwi.

It’s cool! The notes say, ‘There are three sub-species of kiwi, brown (mantelli), south island (australis), amd stewart island (lawryi).’

There is also a lesser spotted and a greater spotted – apteryx haasti (So how many sub-speicies?)

It notes deaths of some kiwis on the roads at night -- hmm . . . nocturnal movement? Gotta read the whole article again.

The illustration is a weensey bit amazing. I wonder if I can get a scan of it?

Supreme Emu

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

Actually theres a LOT of debates on how many subspecies there are, but they have decided on 3 for sure. But a lot of people debate theres something like 6.

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Hi, C.B.Lover,

I look forward to learning about this. During a recent conversation with an Australian academic (involved in a project about emus), he explained that some authorities have abandoned the notion of sub-species, and use 'taxa' ?????

Has any BYC person ever bred kiwis? Does anyone have any?

It's sorta, for me, a way of understanding emus better -- that's why I recommend the cassowary doco to emu lovers.

Supreme Emu

 

[CochinBrahmaLover]

I don't know if you can legally own a kiwi

Barred Rock Kiwi!!

OK actually a Great Spotted or Rora Kiwi the largest breed, but funner to call them barred rock kiwis

 

[Tame Emu Guy]

Gee. C.B.L., that answer hadn't occurred to me; and it's funny, then, that a similar thought came to me this morning: there is a dwarf cassowary; but it's only native to New Guinea. Casuarius has explained the intransigence of national governments about exporting rare animals, etc., and I thought to myself that there's probably no international dwarf-cassowary breeding-programme because you can't legally own a dwarf cassowary.

I see no vestigial wing in the photo -- ????

and they are nocturnal!!

Great photo. Thank you.

Supreme Emu

 

[chickenzoo]

Awwww, I always wanted a Kiwi.........